DancingPavilion

We made a pavilion dance with people during the Olympic Games

D3 developed the technology for a kinetic dancing pavilion that interacted with people during the 2016 Summer Olympics along with Estúdio Guto Requena.

Photo: Fernanda Ligabue / Rafael Frazão

Music and audience synced with the building

The pavilion was formed by a sensitive dancefloor connected to a kinetic architectural skin, along with 345 round mirrors. Each mirror could be rotated in 360 degrees, synchronously forming animations, letting light through, and changing the color of the space.

345 round mirrors

300 square meters

The dynamics of movement

We calculated and designed the mechanical system responsible for movimenting each module using stepper motors, a set of belts and pulleys, all designed specifically for the project.

Custom hardware for high performance

Achieving sync and fluid animations in a 345-node-network, considering high torque motors running in Rio de Janeiro's heat was not a trivial electronic engineering task. It was pure fun, nonetheless.

Photo: D3

Real-time control and response

The interaction between the dancefloor and the people inside the pavillion happened through a set of sensors that continually analysed how the audience was behaving on the building's boundaries. Those sensors were responsible for feeding the animation software that in its turn, orchestrated the movement of the kinetic architectural skin.

“The most lively club of the 2016 Olympics”Archdaily

The result was a kinetic sculpture that hypnotized people from far, and turned that space into an electrifying club during the Olympic Games.

524 visitorsper hour

16kpeople made the structure dance

“As emotional architecture, it shivers like an excited body”Designboom

D3 is a digital product studio in Brazil since 2002.As a studio we build digital products for companies like Twitter, Fiat, and Google.As a venture builder we've founded startups like Bloom, Zag, and Aura.